Sycamore Cove

Cynthia Coe's Book Reviews, Publications, and Ideas

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Big news: I’ve moved online! 📚 For fiction + non-fiction rooted in faith and history → CynthiaCoe.com 🧶 For essays on knitting and calm living → SycamoreCoveKnitting.com

A New Home for Faith-Filled Stories & Resources

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History isn’t just found in textbooks — it lives in the quiet rhythm of our stitches. In this post, I share why knitting connects us to the past in ways that still matter today. #KnittingHistory #SlowCraft #SycamoreCoveKnitting #FiberArts #HandcraftingHeritage

The History in Our Knitting Hands

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✨ Big news! ✨ After years of writing Christian formation resources and sharing reflections at Sycamore Cove, I’ve launched a new website to reflect the next chapter of my writing life. I’m now focusing on fiction — especially historical fiction rooted in faith, creativity, and community. 📚 Visit CynthiaCoe.com to explore all my books, including the ones you know and love — now featured front and center with links for Kindle, paperback, and Audible. This isn’t goodbye to Sycamore Cove... it’s a turning of the page. I hope you’ll come along. #ChristianFiction #HistoricalFiction #WomenWriters #SpiritualWriting #AuthorLife #FaithAndStory

A New Chapter: From Sycamore Cove to CynthiaCoe.com

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You know what’s trending? Granny Crafts. Knitting, crochet, embroidery, slow stitching—quiet, comforting, creative things you do with your hands while the world spins on. I’ve been doing these crafts since college, when I needed something to calm my brain. Now, I write novels about women who do the same—through every season of life. 🧶 Follow along if you’ve picked up a hook or needle and felt something shift. 📚 Check out my stories if you’ve ever wondered how crafting weaves into healing. You’re not alone. You’re part of a long, beautiful tradition. #GrannyCrafts #SlowCrafting #YoungPeopleWhoKnit

Why You Shouldn’t Be Embarrassed to Do “Granny Crafts”

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What if rest isn’t a luxury—but a sacred part of the creative process? As a writer, knitter, and woman of faith, I’ve come to believe that resting isn’t stepping away from the work—it’s stepping deeper into it. If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, spiritually dry, or simply weary… this gentle post might be the permission you didn’t know you needed.

Permission to Pause: Why Rest Is Part of the Creative Life

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In a world that moves so fast, I’ve found that creativity—whether I’m knitting, writing, or simply sitting still—has become a kind of prayer. A way to be present. A way to listen. This week on the blog, I’m exploring how creativity can be a spiritual practice... whether you knit or not.

Creativity as a Spiritual Practice—Whether You Knit or Not

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More Than Yarn and Needles

How every stitch—from cozy garments to prayer shawls—carries meaning in our culture When we think of knitting today, we often think of coziness—warmth, comfort, and care woven into every stitch. In our 21st-century minds, knitting conjures images of home, love, and handmade gifts. But the symbolism of knitted items runs far deeper and more complex through human culture. For years, knitting was…

More Than Yarn and Needles

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Yarn suppliers going out of business? Don't fret! Here my tips for continued crafting happiness.

Your Crafting Supplier Goes Out of Business. What do you do?

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Need to refresh your mind and spirit? Need a Re-Set? Travel can help you grow spiritually and get you out of a rut!

Travel as a Spiritual Aid

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Do you knit on vacation? I just returned from Portugal. Some of my happiest memories were knitting while watching the vineyards go by.

Knitting and the Spontaneity and Relaxation of Travel

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Do you plan to knit while traveling? Wondering what project to take? Here' my go-to knitting project!

Looking for the Perfect Travel Project to Knit?

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Traveling Light – Tips for International Travel and Other Spiritual Quests

Baggage: Tips for an international journey that will strip you down to your essential self and guarantee a trip without undue burdens.

I’m going to Portugal! This is my first international trip all by myself, and I can’t wait to explore and learn about new places and cultures again. As part of the group chat for my tour, the question of how much luggage can or should be taken has come up. Baggage: we’ve all got it. Questions of “How Much” and “What to Take” with us on a new adventure says a lot about ourselves. Some people in…

Traveling Light – Tips for International Travel and Other Spiritual Quests

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Christmas Crafting: A Mindful Alternative to the Frenzy of Christmas Shopping

Put down that phone and pick up a sense of peace and calm. Crafting gives you something online shopping never will!

Click. The item’s in your cart. Click. You’ve bought it. In two days, it will arrive at your doorstep. No further thought or effort required. This morning, I bought a pair of shoes on deep discount. It was barely sunrise, and I was half-asleep, scrolling on my phone. Hours later, as I picked up my knitting needles to work on a Christmas blanket project, I reflected on how profoundly different my…

Christmas Crafting: A Mindful Alternative to the Frenzy of Christmas Shopping

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Christmas Crafting is the Opposite of Christmas Shopping

Click, it’s in your shopping basket. Click, you’ve paid for it. Your purchase will appear on your doorstep in two days without any further effort on your part.  I bought a pair of shoes on deep discount this morning, at breakfast and as easy as pressing digital buttons on my phone while still half asleep. As I later picked up my knitting needles to work on a Christmas blanket project, I couldn’t…

Christmas Crafting is the Opposite of Christmas Shopping

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Weaving Together Faith, History, and Community: A Journey Through With The Prayer Shawl Chronicles Series

Knitting, like faith, is about connection—binding threads together into something purposeful and lasting. In my series, The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, I’ve sought to link the threads of faith, fellowship, and ministry to others.

Knitting, like faith, is about connection—binding threads together into something purposeful and lasting. In my series, The Prayer Shawl Chronicles, I’ve sought to reflect that deep spiritual truth: that the threads of our lives, intertwined with faith and fellowship, create something beautiful and enduring. Each book in the series stands alone, much like the individual strands of yarn we use to…

Weaving Together Faith, History, and Community: A Journey Through With The Prayer Shawl Chronicles Series

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Knitting Together Faith, History, and Community: The Prayer Shawl Chronicles Series

Knitting is much more than crafting a beautiful piece of fabric. It’s about weaving together threads that form something full of meaning and purpose. That’s exactly how I view my series, The Prayer Shawl Chronicles.

Knitting is much more than crafting a beautiful piece of fabric. It’s about weaving together threads that, on their own, may seem ordinary, but when intertwined, form something greater—something full of meaning and purpose. That’s exactly how I view my series, The Prayer Shawl Chronicles. While each book stands alone, much like individual strands of yarn, together they create a rich,…

Knitting Together Faith, History, and Community: The Prayer Shawl Chronicles Series

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How Did Knitting Become A Worldwide Craft? Quick and Fun History Lessons on How We All Learned to Knit

Quickie History Lessons on How We All Learned to Knit! The Surprising Origins of Knitting in Warm Places

When you think of where knitting originated, you might guess the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, or some other cold place. But Spain and Egypt? Really??? Where did the beloved craft of knitting get started? When I first picked up a history of knitting, I imagined knitting began somewhere around the North Atlantic, like the Scandinavian countries. The word “knitting” comes from the Old English…

How Did Knitting Become A Worldwide Craft? Quick and Fun History Lessons on How We All Learned to Knit